USA retail sales rebounded in April after sluggish winter

Sales in the non-store retail sector, which includes pure-play e-commerce, increased by 12% in April to $51.4 billion, the thirteenth straight month of double-digit increases.

Total sales for the February 2017 through April 2017 period were up 4.7% from the same period a year ago. A 0.2% monthly decline for March was revised up to show a 0.1% increase. Excluding foodservice, automotive, and gasoline, core retail sales rose 3% year over year, which GlobalData Retail Managing Director Neil Saunders called "a respectable uplift... only slightly below the average rate of growth over the past year".

Adding to retailers' problems, an unusually warm February hurt sales of winter wear, while a delay in tax refunds in the same month crimped spending in the February-April quarter.

Friday's report excluded consumer spending on most services, including medical care and housing.

"While the interplay between consumer confidence and spending is hard to gauge, retail sales trends and recent consumer sentiment readings are consistent with a pickup in the pace of the economy in the coming months", NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a blog posting.

E-commerce sales rose 1.4% in April and 11.9% year over year, according to the report, suggesting that, while growing, online sales results don't put much of a dent into overall retail sales. The unemployment rate in April was 4.4%, according to the Labor Department, matching its lowest level since 2001.

Still, retail chains have announced thousands of store closures so far this year, and some have filed for bankruptcy protection, as US shoppers increasingly shift their spending to online platforms from physical storefronts and malls.

While not a direct comparison, NRF's 2017 projection would top the 3.3 percent annual gain in retail sales from 2015 to 2016, based on data issued by the United States Department of Commerce.

Spending was uneven across other categories last month.

Sales fell in April for department stores by 0.2%, furniture by 0.5%, clothing and accessories by 0.5%, and grocery by 0.4%.

Related news

The BSE Sensex rose more than 1 percent on Thursday to its highest close in a month as stocks of blue chip companies such as. The NSE Nifty touched a new intra-day high of 9,414.75 points and the BSE Sensex of 30,271.60 points.

Athletes on scholarship each semester earn one point for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating. A team's April is the total number of eligibility/retention points earned divided by the maximum number of points possible.

That's about the same number as before the release of a video Israel claims shows the strike leader secretly eating in his cell. Pizza Hut issued an apology for the ad on the Facebook account of its franchise in Lebanon.

Salamoni shouted at least twice during a struggle on the ground that Sterling had a gun, Amundson said, before opening fire. Interestingly Sterling's family lawyers say there's video with sound in it that the public has never heard.

Burakovsky forced a turnover by Penguins defenseman Ron Hainsey, moved to the right post and flipped the puck in off of Fleury. A failed one-timer caused Marc-Andre Fleury to be out of position, and Kuznetsov had an open net from a sharp angle.

The fabric shield she and Fischer will be installing is a replacement for one that Whitson lost on a previous spacewalk . Whitson, who was making the ninth spacewalk of her career, could often be heard chuckling at Fischer's exclamations.

He said the bill's been online "for two months". "Health care affects everyone in this country and we need to try to get it right. The American Healthcare Act (AHCA) is out of the House with 217 GOP lawmakers supporting the new healthcare legislation.

Asif warned that Pakistan would respond "fittingly" to Afghanistan if any further violations were committed along the border. It said that in the first two months of 2017, 807 personnel of Afghan security forces had been killed and 1,328 injured.

Two shots and roughly three minutes later, Jake Guentzel lifted the Penguins to a two-goal lead going into the third period. Colorado entered with the best odds to win, 18 percent, but fell three spots and will select fourth.

Blackburn had lifted themselves out of the drop zone earlier in the day thanks to Mulgrew's superb free-kick into the top corner. The striker scored a penalty two minutes before half-time before Chris Cohen fired in a second from distance after the break.

Ousted Obama official to speak on Trump aide's Russia talks
Yates' testimony returned the spotlight to the simmering controversy over Russia's meddling in last year's United States election. But in fact, surveillance of Kislyak revealed that Flynn did in fact discuss sanctions with the ambassador, according to reports.

Democrats see a winning issue in opposing GOP health bill
Rand Paul of Kentucky, argue there's no choice. "They'll find out that their Congress person voted to take away their healthcare". Senior citizens, for whom the AHCA already plans to increase premiums, are more likely to belong to this category of patients.

Thomas lobbies for calls with Celtics-Wizards series tied
While Olynyk pleaded his case to the referee, Oubre got up off the floor. "We're still down one, still down in the series". The Rockets had been killed on the offensive glass the last couple games and that slowed down their attack.

Smith, Kishan stand dents Punjab's hopes of making playoffs
Sachin's innings included 12 boundaries and three huge sixes as Mumbai posted a strong total of 182 in their designated 20 overs. Punjab added to their own woes, when David Miller and Gurkeerat Singh dropped Smith, in the sixth and eighth over respectively.